I found this artcle in the Asbury Park news totally by accident.
MANCHESTER - Deep in the Pine Barrens of Ocean and Burlington counties, the legendary railroad that once carried "The Blue Comet" between Jersey City and Atlantic City is coming alive again.
It seemed to start in the spring, when new signage, grade crossings and gates appeared over Route 539 near the Whiting section of Manchester. Then came the replacement of new rails and ties over a railbed that has cut through the wilderness of the Pinelands here for more than 150 years, but which had all but been abandoned since at least the 1970s.
The plan — conceived between Clayton Sand Co., New Jersey Seashore Lines and Conrail — is to restore freight service over 13 miles of rehabilitated track between Lakehurst and the Woodmansie section of Woodland Township, where Clayton operates a sand mine, according to Ocean County officials.
A family-owned company based in Wall Township, Clayton first acquired this stretch of rail line from Conrail in 1985 with the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Back then, the line was already at least a decade out of service. In recent years, Clayton has partnered with New Jersey Seashore Lines Inc., known for its sightseeing rail tours in Cape May County, to operate as a common carrier on its investment. When rehabilitation of the track is completed, Seashore will operate the rail service to meet Clayton's needs and the needs of any future customers who might materialize, according to documents filed with the federal government.
Behind the scenes, the project has been in the works for many years, mired in bureaucracy, environmental concerns and funding issues, and absent of the kind of promotion and fanfare public officials typically organize for high-profile road and bridge projects.
In 2013, Gov. Chris Christie's administration awarded a total of $2.1 million in grants through the Rail Freight Assistance Program to assist with the restoration of this part of the old Blue Comet line between Ocean and Burlington counties, covering 90 percent of the project's cost. Conrail received a $675,000 grant for the rehab of three timber railroad bridges in Lakehurst, while New Jersey Seashore Lines received $1.5 million for the upgrade of the track in Lakehurst, Manchester and Woodland, according to state records.
The federal funds, administered by the state, are intended to boost economic activity by preserving and improving existing freight rail service, and making it more widely available for businesses, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The project has been undertaken in fits and starts, and like most other state-funded transportation projects, was suspended over the summer when Christie and the Legislature went to war over how to keep the Transportation Trust Fund solvent. No one interviewed knows when the work is expected to be finished.
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"This has been going on over a couple of years," said David J. McKeon, Ocean County planning director. "I know they've been doing some maintenance, they've been clearing some brush away from the tracks. ... (Clayton) is going to use it to transport sand and gravel, that's their business."
McKeon said the state Pinelands Commission has been monitoring the work as it involves eliminating at least four decades of overgrowth and underbrush to reopen the right of way.
"If they want to do something else, if the say, 'hey, we're going to expand the lines, we're going to do this and that, then they need to come to the Pinelands Commission and get a permit and work with them," McKeon said.
Representatives for Clayton and New Jersey Seashore Lines did not immediately respond to inquiries about the project.
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In the era of big railroads, the Jersey Shore has never had a more grander train than the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Blue Comet, which operated between Jersey City and Atlantic City from Feb. 21, 1929 to Sept. 27, 1941. Two G3 Pacific locomotives and the cars they pulled (each named after a comet) were painted in Packard and royal blues, with a Jersey cream-colored stripe down the sides of its cars. Packard blue was to have represented the sky, royal blue the ocean and Jersey cream the color of the beach, all according to the National Railway Historical Society in Philadelphia.
Very nice to hear. Somewhere on the internet, Utube, or something is an interview done by a tv reporter with Rogers Whitticker and ....Jensen about rail passenger travel. The train interview was aboard a special train replicating the Blue Comet's ride. Rogers is the famous FM Freebo of railroading fame and Jensen, I believe, founded a beautiful magazine of American history which may still be published. The interview took place probably in the 1970's ?
From the imbedded link in the OP's first post came 'the story' following the OP's article.
It seems to indicate that although the owner's [Clayton Sand Co.] of the "...The plan — conceived between Clayton Sand Co., New Jersey Seashore Lines and Conrail — is to restore freight service over 13 miles of rehabilitated track between Lakehurst and the Woodmansie section of Woodland Township, where Clayton operates a sand mine, according to Ocean County officials..." Clayton Sand and their tourist operation; has suffered the 'slings and arrows' of the theft of its property, of track materials and created problems for their operation of a tourist railroad on the property. Those operations were to help pay for the rehabilitation of the line.
"...A family-owned company based in Wall Township, Clayton first acquired this stretch of rail line from Conrail in 1985 with the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Back then, the line was already at least a decade out of service. In recent years, Clayton has partnered with New Jersey Seashore Lines Inc., known for its sightseeing rail tours in Cape May County, to operate as a common carrier on its investment. When rehabilitation of the track is completed, Seashore will operate the rail service to meet Clayton's needs and the needs of any future customers who might materialize, according to documents filed with the federal government.
Behind the scenes, the project has been in the works for many years, mired in bureaucracy, environmental concerns and funding issues, and absent of the kind of promotion and fanfare public officials typically organize for high-profile road and bridge projects..."
Unfortunately, there is no 'timeline' established by the OP's original post, except for a starting time in 1985. The note in their website, as well, is not dated.
It would be interesting if someone could contribute some timely, and current information on the operation of the tourist line or the Sand Company operating their material trains over the 30 or so miles of their property.
Enquiring minds would like some infiormation. Not to mention my Avon Blue Comet loco on the shelf, too.
"...Customer Notice: Rio Grande – Cape May City service is suspended due to the high volume theft of track material; specifically, tie plates and track spikes, along with the destruction of crossties, over a considerable distance of the Cape May Branch. These unconscionable and heinous acts of vandalism have caused extensive damage to the track structure, rendering the rail line impassable by any type of train movement. The Seashore Lines is actively exploring solutions to remediate this situation of ruinous proportions..."
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